Altice France, the owner of telecoms firm SFR, has rejected a bid from three French rivals, Altice CEO Arthur Dreyfuss told staff in a memo on Wednesday, dealing a blow to investor hopes for consolidation in the European telecoms market. Bouygues Telecom, Iliad's Free and Orange said late on Tuesday they had submitted a 17-billion-euro ($19.8 billion) non-binding offer to buy most of Altice France's assets, valuing the company at 21 billion euros. The joint bid had boosted stocks in Paris on Wednesday as investors anticipated more sector consolidation even though the French government said it would be vigilant about the deal.

"We confirm that we received an indicative offer last night for part of Altice France's assets. This offer has been immediately rejected," said Dreyfuss in a memo to

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